Door construction



1958 v. E. NOEL ET AL 2,818,946

DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 9, 1955 A? INVENTORS. VERNON Enwnv NoeL By Roms/Q G. Weyn/vr SMITH, 0zsuvglforrs A TTORN Y5 United States Patent fi DR1C0NSTRUCTI0N vemonutdwin Noeland Romer o. Weyant, Elkliart, In'd., assigno'l'sto"B &N'Aluminum Welding Corp., Elkhart, Ind., a corporation'of Indiana A piicafimse tember-sv, 1955, Serial No.-533,395

-2- 'Claims. ci.1's9=46 -The. present invention "relates toimprovements inthe construction of doors, and-particularly doorssuitable for use in house-trailers cabin cruisers orthe like.

In United States patent application, Serial No. 342,874, filed on-March 17, 1953 there isdisclosed a door construction including-two parallel sheet metal panels spaced from each other by right angularly directed wall portions extending along the top, 'bott'om'and side edges of said panels. In the space between thepanels there is provided a reinforcement means in the form of a pad of corrugated material, preferably corrugated cardboard. The door construction is employed in house trailers and cabin cruisers where it is exposed to the weather, and unless the corrugated material is sealed from rain it will become soggy and lose its reinforcement characteristics. One point at which rain has been found to enter into the cardboard material is the joint between the top wall and each side wall. In order to prevent entry of rain into this joint there is provided according to the present invention a sealing mechanism in the form of a tab formed integrally with the door top wall. The tab is extended downwardly outside the side wall so as to prevent rain from entering the joint between the top and side walls.

The present application is a continuation in part of the above-mentioned application, Serial No. 342,874, Patent Number 2,781,875 issued Feb. 19, 1957.

One object of the present invention is to provide a door construction including two spaced metal panels and a body of reinforcing material, wherein the reinforcing material is sealed from exposure to rain.

Another object is to provide a door construction of the above-identified character, wherein sealing of the reinforcing material is effected at a minimum cost.

Another object is to provide a door construction having the above-identified character, wherein the seal for the reinforcing material is retained over extended periods of time. This object is achieved by forming the sealing means integrally with the door. The integrally formed sealing means is of such construction and placement as to eliminate the need for any liquid or plastic sealing compositions.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a door present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view taken in the same direction as Fig. 1 but showing only the upper left corner of the Fig. 1 door.

Fig. 3 is a view showing a corner portion of a panel employed in the Fig. 1 door, prior to its being pressed into its door-forming shape.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on lines 4-4 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 in Fig. 1.

embodying the 2,818,946 Ce 4. P fefetee7d w Before eXplainin'g the present invention indetail it is 'to be understood'that the invention isnot'litnited m its application to the details of constructiomand arran ement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since 'the invention iscapable ofotheremboments and of beingipractieed-or" carried out in-various ways." Also, i it" is to be understoodthat'thephraseology or terminology employed herein is for the: purpose of descriptionand'not of limitation.

in the drawings there isshown'a doorconstruction -10 "including-= first sheet metal panel 11 and a second" sheet metal :panel 12. Disposed between these panels =is aFp'ad -of-corrugated cardboard 13. Pad 13 is bonded to-the 'inner surfaces 22 'and 23 of panels 11 and 12 by any-suitable-bonding agent, as for example, ChryslerCycl'e weld. Pad 13 reinforcesipa'nels 11 and lfi'againstbucklingin p when pressed upon, andalso dampens outnoise resulting from vibrations of the panels. Additionally the" corrusgated-cardboard is verylow in cost and is found'to provide a door with superior heat insulated properties then is "the case =when priorart types of reinforcing materials "are" employed.

"In order to position-panels 11- and 12 in parallel spaced relations'panel '12 is provided with flanges-14- through "17 along its top, bottom, and two side edges, respectively. Extending right angularly from flanges 14 through 17 are four terminal walls 18 through 21 respectively. When panels 11 and 12 are in their assembled positions each of walls 18 through 21 facially engages wall 11. Walls 18, 19 and 20 are turned outwardly as shown in. Fig. 4. Wall 21 extending along the right edge of the door is turned inwardly as shown in Fig. 5. The right edge of the door is the hinged edge, and outward turning of wall 21 would interfere with operation of the door hinge.

Panel 11 is provided with reversely bent flanges 24 through 26 along its top, bottom and left side edges. Said flanges clamp the corresponding walls 18 through 20 against panel 11 and thereby retain panels 11 and 12 in their spaced positions. A bonding :agent, as for example, Chrysler Cycle-Weld, is provided between the engaging surfaces of panel 11, walls 18 through 21 and walls 24 through 26. The use of a bonding agent eliminates the spot-welding operation which is sometimes employed to secure door panels together. The spot-welding operation is objectionable in that the spot-welds are visible on the door surface, even when the door is covered with one or more coats of paint.

The operation of bonding pad 13 to panels 11 and 12 and bonding walls 18 through 21 against panel 11 may be carried out in a press using a diagram of the type shown in United States patent application, Serial No. 44,121, filed August 13, 1948 in the name of Vernon E. Noel and Romer G. Weyant. By using such a press the door 10 can be formed with a camber in its unhinged edge, such as can be seen in Fig. 1. It will be observed that the hinge edge is substantially straight while the unhinged edge is bowed. This camber is a very desirable feature of the door construction because the resilient properties of the sheet metal panels will cause the lip formed by flange 26 to be biased against the door frame (not shown) when the lock 27 is engaged in said door frame. Not only will this effect a weather tight seal but it will prevent rattling of the door in its frame.

Door 10 is designed for use in house trailers, cabin cruisers and other installations where it will be exposed to the weather, and unless cardboard pad 13 is sealed from rain it will become soggy and lose its reinforcement characteristics. The joint between flanges 14 and 16 and the joint between flanges 14 and 17 would offer openings for the entrance of rain into pad 13, except that a tab 28 overlies each of these joints. Each of tabs 28 is formed 7 no sealing compositions need be employed between tab 28 and flanges 16,17.

Weclaim: t

1. A door construction. having front and rear sheet metal panels with the central portions in spaced relation and a corrugated pad disposed between said panels, three of the corresponding edges of said panels including one top and one side edge being shaped and fastened together to form a continuous marginal recessforfitting into a vdoor frame, the joint between saidthree corresponding edges being formed by thefront panel having a peripheral edge folded back in a reverse direction along its inner side, said rear panel having its corresponding edge turned toward the front panel and extending into engagement with the latter, the terminal portion of said edge being turned laterally so as to fit under the folded back portion of the front panel, the corner formed by the junction 7 of the forwardly turned top and side edges being closed by a tab extending from the top edge and overlying the side edge, and theremaining pair of corresponding edges being joined to form a box-like section for fitting against the hinge-carrying side of-the door frame, the hinged edge of said door being relatively straight and the opposite 4 edge being cambered to present a concave face toward its rear panel.

2. A door construction having front and rear sheet metal panels with the central portions in spaced relation and a corrugated pad disposed between said panels, said sheet metal panels being shaped and fastened together at two of the edges to form a continuous marginal recess for fitting into a door frame, the joints between the two edges being formed by the front panel having peripheral edges folded back in a reverse direction along its inner side, said rear panel having its corresponding edges turned forward toward the front panel and extending into engagement with the latter, the terminal portions of said corresponding edges being turned laterally so as to fit under the folded back portions of the front panel thereby forming weather tight edges, the corner of the door construction at the intersection of the forward turned portions of the rear panel being joined in weather tight relation by a tab integrally formed in one portion overlapping and being joined to the other portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,873,720 Piker Aug. 23, 1932 2,574,998 Bangert Nov. 13, 1951 2,670,820 Worthington Mar. 2, 1954 

